Sun Chemical releases new sustainability report, highlights installation of solar panels in Belgium and distillation unit in Illinois, capture of steam to produce energy in Ohio, projects in Michigan that helped to avoid CO2 emissions, more

Elyse Blye

PARSIPPANY, New Jersey , May 8, 2014 (press release) – Sun Chemical has published its fifth Corporate Sustainability Report, which introduces a new internal web-based data collecting system designed to improve metrics reporting, and highlights many examples of renewable projects being implemented at various Sun Chemical production facilities worldwide.

Sun Chemical’s 2013 Corporate Sustainability Report continues to focus on its data-driven sustainability efforts by reporting the performance measurement for seven key sustainability metrics: energy consumption/conservation at production and non-production sites, the energy carbon footprint at the production sites, process waste reduction, water consumption, materials safety, and employee safety.

In the report, Sun Chemical introduces a new internal web-based collecting system called EcoTrack. EcoTrack enables continuous monitoring, gives more transparency, and improves data quality check capabilities of the seven key sustainability metrics.

EcoTrack will be a key tool moving forward in Sun Chemical’s road map objective to review target improvement opportunities. Sun Chemical has collected data for the key sustainability metrics since 2005 from approximately 170 Sun Chemical sites in over 25 countries, and this data has been uploaded into the system to keep continuity in data reporting.

“At Sun Chemical, we’re challenging ourselves to look for ways we can improve our processes at individual sites by monitoring key metrics to understand and manage our environmental impact,” said Gary Andrzejewski, Sun Chemical’s Corporate Vice President of Environmental Affairs. “EcoTrack is one example of ways we our improving our processes in data collection. In 2013, there are many examples of how our own manufacturing facilities have been challenging themselves with regard to eco-efficiency. We’ve accomplished a lot in 2013 that we are proud of.”

A variety of renewable and safety projects are highlighted in the report, including:

the installation of solar panels in the Wavre, Belgium facility;
28 projects in the Muskegon, Mich. facility which helped to avoid 726 tons of CO2 emissions;
the installation of a new distillation unit in Kankakee, Ill., which increased the quantity of ink manufactured for each kilogram of cleaning solvent by 40 percent;
the capture of steam to produce energy at the Maumee, Ohio site; and
a fire training and evacuation exercise to identify improvement areas at the Marki, Poland facility.

Providing a report that shows the ongoing management and monitoring of key sustainability metrics is an important part of Sun Chemical’s sustainability policy.

“Our sustainability policy pushes us as a company to improve the eco-efficiency of our processes and products,” said Michel Vanhems, Sustainability Leader, Sun Chemical. “Product stewardship, especially but not only in sensitive packaging applications such as food, direct food and tobacco, remains a major tenet of our policy in action. With the development of green procurement, eco-labeling, complex regulatory changes, and brand owners and retailers embracing sustainability criteria in supply chain selection, Sun Chemical is determined to be the inks, coatings and pigments partner of choice for today and future challenges.”

The Sun Chemical sustainability report, is available to customers and can be requested online at www.sunchemical.com/sustainability. Customers in the U.S. can also calculate the initial carbon footprint for their facility operations by visiting www.sunchemical.com/suncare.

About Sun Chemical’s Sustainability Policy
Sun Chemical’s sustainability policy stresses its responsibility to raise awareness about environmental issues in the graphic arts industry. Product stewardship and risk management are also important components of the policy with a commitment to take an analytical-based approach to its efforts.

Providing customers with enhanced sustainability of their processes and end products is the ultimate goal of Sun Chemical’s sustainability policy. In order to reach that goal, Sun Chemical will use rigorous development processes and analytical tools to evaluate and improve the eco-efficiency of both its manufacturing procedures and products.

This data-driven approach in the policy means Sun Chemical will be able to identify target improvement opportunities for its processes on energy and water consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and solid waste emissions as well as develop products with a structured approach that includes risk management and eco-efficiency improvements as criteria.

Focusing on “Getting More—Using Less–Eco-efficiency,” Sun Chemical’s sustainability policy underscores its proactive role in minimizing the life cycle footprint of its products and its customers’ impact on the environment.

About Sun Chemical
Sun Chemical, a member of the DIC group, is the world’s largest producer of printing inks and pigments and a leading provider of materials to packaging, publication, coatings, plastics, cosmetics, and other industrial markets. With annual sales of more than $3.5 billion, Sun Chemical has over 8,000 employees supporting customers around the world.

Sun Chemical Corporation is a subsidiary of Sun Chemical Group Coöperatief U.A., the Netherlands, and is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, U.S.A. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.sunchemical.com.

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